Nomi Ruiz Shares Powerful Essay On Gender, Identity, And Femininity

New York City vocalist, producer, and multimedia artist Nomi Ruiz has released a new video for her Animal Feelings collaboration, "Chemical Love." In addition to the Adam France-directed visual, Ruiz has also shared a personal essay about the themes of gender and femininity that are brought up in the song.

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"When I sat down with Oli Chang and Adam France to talk about creating a video for 'Chemical Love' we all agreed we wanted something ethereal and otherworldly," Ruiz writes. "I wanted to use this moment to express my current feminine philosophy by creating a character who escapes all preconceived notions of femininity, gender, and even race."

In the essay, the former Hercules and Love Affair vocalist also discusses her childhood in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood: "Growing up a woman of trans experience on the gritty streets of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, I struggled to find a place amongst my peers." It wasn't until she saw a televised interview with model Eve Salvail. Seeing the confidence she possessed helped me see that an alternate universe of femininity DID exist," she remembers. "It was the first time I felt that I too could embrace femininity no matter what I possessed aesthetically."